Retort burner of the pot type



Oct. 11, 1949. M. RESEK 2,484,134

RETORT BURNER OF THE POT TYPE Filed Aug. 2, 1946 INVENTOR, Mirc/Qesek BYa. v MM- Patented a. 11, 1949 RETORT BURNER OF THE POT TYPE Marc Resek,Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to Perfection Stove Company,Cleveland, Ohio, a

corporation of Ohio Application August 2, 1946, Serial No. 688,100 7Claims. (Cl. 158-63) This invention relates, generally, to liquid fuelburners, and more particularly to those of the pot type, and it consistsin incorporating in a burner of this type a liquid fuel vaporizing unitor retort, with the principal objects in view of increasing theefilciency and improving the performance of the burner by causing it tomore readily and thoroughly vaporize or gasify the fuel and consequentlyproduce a cleaner flre.

Another object is to provide a construction that facilitates priming orstarting of the burner, as well as cleaning of the vaporizing unit, andwhich construction is relatively simple, inexpensive, compact anddurable, and is not likely to get out of order.

These objects and advantages. with others that will become apparent fromthe following description, are attained in the construction illustratedin the accompanying drawing wherein Fig. 1 is a central vertical sectionthrough my improved vaporizing burner and the fuel supply and controlmeans therefor, the latter being shown more or less conventionally, andFig. 2 is a horizontal section through the burner in oflset planes. as

. indicated by the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

and its lower end is turned outwardly to provide a flange 6. Secured tothe upper end of the peripheral wall 2 is the flanged edge portion of anannular top wall 8 that is characterized by a relatively large centralopening Ill surrounded by a depending flange. I I.

Encasing the lower end of the burner pot l, and secured thereto,desirably by weldi is an annular trough-like shield IS, the purpose ofwhich will presently appear; and the burner pot assembly thus fardescribed is supported centrally within a cylindrical housing l6 by asuitable number of L-shaped brackets ll. which have their inner endsfastened to said shield I and their uptumedouter ends secured to thehousing I6. Rising from the housing is a cylindrical casing 20, shown ashaving its lower end embedded in a gasket 2| of suitable packingmaterial 55 confined in an upwardly facing channel of the housing, andan annular wall 23 extends inwardly from the casing 20 over and inspaced relation to the top wall 8 of the burner pot. Said wall 23 has acentral opening 24 surrounded by a flange 25 that depends a slightdistance into the opening [0 of the top wall 8 in concentric relation tothe flange II. The annular wall 23 defines the bottom of a combustionchamber which is enclosed by the upper portion of the casing 20, shownas broken away in part.

The vaporizing unit or retort is designated generally by the referencenumeral and, in its present preferred form, is made up of vertical tubes3| and 32, and a cross tube 33, the opposite ends of the latter beingcommunicatively con nected to the upper ends of the vertical tubes bycruciform or X-shaped fittings 34. The branches of said fittings thatare in alignment with the vertical tubes 3| and 32 are closed by screwplugs 35, while the branches that align with the cross tube 33 areclosed by similar plugs 36. By removal of these plugs, convenient.access may be had to the interior of all tubes for cleaning purposes.The tubes 3i and 32 are projected downwardly through apertures in thewalls 23 and 8 and terminate at their lower ends a short distance abovethe bottom wall 4 of the burner pot. The lower end of the tube 3| isclosed, as clearly shown in Fig. 1, and adjacent its lower end said tubecommunicates, through a pipe 31 with liquid fuel supply and controlmeans designated generally by the reference numeral 40.

For the purpose of this disclosure the liquid fuel supply and controlmeans is shown as consisting of a receptacle 4|, the interior of whichis divided by a partition 42 into a receiving compartment A and adelivery compartment B. From a suitable source (not shown) liquid fuelis conveyed by a pipe 43 to the compartment A under the control of avalve 44 that is adapted to be closed in opposition to a spring 45 by afloat 46, when liquid has risen within the compartment A to the levelindicated by the broken line a.

Supported astride the partition 42, by a carrier 48, is an invertedU-shaped wick 50. The wick,

by means of its carrier 48, is adjustable between a low position whereinthe lower ends of its branches are well below the liquid levelrepresented by the line a and a position wherein said ends are abovesaid level; and the means for accomplishing this adjustment of the wickis herein disclosed as a screw 5| that is guided within an aperture of abracket 52 that is carried. by an end wall of the receptacle 4! and hasits lower end swiveled in asimilarly sup: I

ported bracket 53. The wick carrier 48 has a lateral extension 54 withina threaded hole of which the screw operates. From this it is clear that,by turning the screw 5| by means of its knurled head 55, the wickcarrier may be raised and lowered to effect the previously describedadjustment of the wick 50.

A walled structure 60, in conjunction with the adjacent side of thelighting tube 5, encloses a priming basin or sump 6| within which isdisposed the lower end of the vertical tube 3| of the retort 30. Saidtube is provided with an orifice 62 intermediate the plane of the supplypipe 37 and the possible maximum liquid level in the priming basin orsump, indicated by the broken line a (which, obviously from thedisclosure, must be the same as that in the com- .partment A). When thewick 50 is adjusted with the lower ends of its branches below the liquidlevel indicated by the broken lines a and a, fuel will, through thecapillary and siphonic action of the wick, be transferred from thereceiving compartment A to the delivery compartment B. From this lattercompartment the fuel will flow through the pipe 31 to the tube 3| andthence through the orifice 62 to the priming basin Bl, attainingsubstantially the same level therein as presently exists in thecompartment B. At the start of an operation, the liquid level throughoutthe system will be that indicated by the broken lines a, a and a.Sustained by a holder 65 in the priming basin 6| is a lighting wick 66which becomes saturated to its upper end by fuel from the priming basin.

The operation of the burner is started by lighting the wick 66 and, inthe present instance, this is accomplished by means of an electricaligniter 61 in the form of a coil of resistance wire that is supported byand between electrodes 68 and 69, carried by a member 10, from which oneof said electrodes is insulated in the usual manner, the other electrodebeing grounded through said member to the burner structure. Current issupplied to the insulated electrode through a conductor 'II. The memberit constitutes a closure for the lower end of the lighting tube '5, andis removably held in place by means indicated at 12. This detail formsno part of my present invention although its construction may beascertained by reference to my copending ap plication Serial No.674,012, filed June 3, 1946.

When the apparatus is made ready for starting by lowering the wick 50 inthe manner above described, fuel will accumulate in the priming basin 6|to the level indicated by the broken line a Current is then supplied tothe igniter 6! and upon the same becoming incandescent fuel is vaporizedfrom the wick 66 and ignited. Immediately thereafter,

by reason of the resultant heat, additional fuel is vaporized from thesurface of the body of fuel in the priming basin and before all fuel insaid basin is consumed the tube 3| is heated to a sufficiently hightemperature to vaporize fuel within the lower end of said tube. Thevapors will then pass through the retort and finally be dischargedtherefrom into the bottom portion of the pot I, the process beingcontinuous so long as fuel is supplied to the retort through the pipe31. During the passage of the vapors through the tubes comprising theretort 30 they will be raised in temperature by heat resulting initiallyfrom the burning of the fuel in the priming basin and thereafter fromthe continued top of the lighting 5 is ignited in the first instance bythe name from the priming basin and as the mixture reaches the top ofthebowl, secondary air is supplied thereto through the passagewaybetween the walls 8 and 23 and the annular slot between the flanges IIand 25, it being understood that air is supplied to'the housing It bynatural draft or by artificial means, such as a motor-driven airimpeller '(not shown). Substantially complete combustion then proceedswithin the combustion chamber above the wall 23. The purpose of theshield i5 is to protect the bottom portion of the bowl from cool airentering the housing IS in order to prevent such chilling of the bowl aswould impair vaporization.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. .A liquid fuel burner comprising a pot provided with means foradmitting air thereto, a retort structure enclosing a passage andarranged with a part of said passage in heat receiving relation to thetop of the pot and so that said passage will discharge into the pot, thepot incorporating a priming basin, and means for supplying fuel to theretort to a given level therein,

o the retort having, adjacent its fuel receiving part,

an orifice below said level through which liquid fuel overflows into thepriming basin.

2. A liquid fuel burner comprising a pot provided with means foradmittin air thereto, a priming basin enclosed by the pot and situatedadjacent the bottom of the latter, a retort supported by the pot withthe fuel receiving end of the retort disposed within the priming basinand with the discharge end of the retort opening into the pot inlaterally spaced relation to said basin, a portion of the retortintermediate said ends being. disposed in heat receiving relation to thetop of the pot, the retort having an orifi-ce adjacent its fuelreceiving end through which liquid fuel overflows from the retort intothe priming basin, and means for delivering fuel to the fuel receivingend of the retort to a level therein above-the bottom edge of saidorifice.

3. The combination defined by claim 2, plus: means for vaporizing andigniting liquid fuel in the priming basin.

4. A liquid fuel burner comprisin a pot provided with means foradmitting air thereto, a retort structure enclosing a passage includingtwo vertical branches and a substantially horizontal portion throughwhich the upper ends of said branches communicate, the retort beingarranged with said horizontal portion of the passage in heat receivingrelation to the top of the pot and with said branches extending down thesides of the pot, one branch opening at its lower end into the pot andthe other branch being closed at its' lower end against direct communication with the pot, means for supplying fuel to the last mentionedbranch of the retort to a given level therein, and a primingbasin'invcorporated in the 'pot with its top above said level, theretort having an orifice below said level through which liquid fueloverflows from said last mentioned branch into the basin.

5. A liquid fuel burner comprising a pot provided with means admittingair thereto adjacent its top and additional means for admitting air tothe pot at a lower elevation, a tubular re- 75 tort comprising twovertical branches and a substantially horizontal branch through whichthe upper ends of the vertical branches are connected together forintercommunication, the retort being arranged with said verticalbranches depending into the pot and with the horizontal branch in heatreceiving relation to the top of the pot, the first of the vertical.branches being closed at its lower end against direct communicationwith the pot, and the second vertical branch opening at its lower enddirectly into the pot, means for supplying liquid fuel to the firstbranch to a given level therein, and a priming basin in the pot with itstop above said level. said first branch having an orifice below saidlevel through which liquid fuel overflows into said basin.

6. Liquid fuel burning apparatus comprising a burner pot provided withmeans for admitting air thereto, a tubular retort comprisin two verticalbranches and a substantially horizontal branch through which the upperends of the vertical branches are connected together forintercommunication, the retort being arranged with said verticalbranches depending into the pot to near the bottom thereof and with thehorizontal branch in heat receiving relation to the top oi. the pot, onevertical branch being closed at its lower end against directcommunication with the pot an open top priming basin situated within thepot, the lower end of the last mentioned branch being disposed withinthe priming basin, the other vertical branch opening at its lower enddirectly into the pot, liquid fuel supply and control means adjacent thepot at one side thereof, a pipe leading therefrom to the vertical branchof the retort that has its lower end disposed in the priming basin andthrough which pipe liquid fuel flows by gravity from said means to theretort, an instrumentality for maintaining a substantially constant fuellevel in said means, and a second instrumentality through which feedingof the fuel from said means to the retort is governed, the top of thepriming basin being above the aforesaid fuel level, and the verticalbranch of the retort that depends into said basin having an orificethrough which liquid fuel overflows into the priming basin.

' 7. In a liquid fuel burner, a retort'comprising two vertical branchesand a substantially horizontal branch through the latter of which theupper ends of the vertical branches communi- 1 cate, the retort beingarranged with the horizontal branch in heat receiving relation to theheat output of the burner, the first vertical branch being closed at itslower end and the second vertical branch having its lower end open fordelivery of vapors to. the burner, means for supplying liquidfuel to thefirst vertical branch to a given level therein, and an open top primingbasin in juxtaposition to the lower end of said first vertical branch,the top of said basin being above said level, and said first verticalbranch having an orifice below said level through which liquid fueloverflows into said basin.

MARC RESEK.

REFERENCES CETED The iollowingreferences are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PA'IENTS ma ..-Ma 19, 1934

